> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.surged.fun/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.surged.fun/launchpad/graduation.md).

# Graduation

A token spends its first life on a bonding curve and its second in a Uniswap pool. Graduation is the step between the two.

## The road to graduation

A curve graduates once it has collected **12,000 USDC** from buyers, net of fees. The progress bar on each token shows how close it is. At that point the token's market cap is around 60,500 USDC, up from about 4,500 at launch.

{% hint style="info" %}
Graduation only means the threshold was reached. It says nothing about a token's quality and it does not guarantee a price, liquidity or an exit.
{% endhint %}

## What happens at graduation

1. **The last buy completes the curve.** If it asks for more tokens than are left, it gets exactly what remains and the rest of its USDC is refunded.
2. **The curve closes.** No more buys or sells on it.
3. **A Uniswap v3 pool opens** with the USDC the curve collected and the tokens held back for it. The pool opens at the curve's last price, so nobody wakes up to a jump. Its trading fee is 1%.
4. **The liquidity is locked forever.** The position goes to a locker contract with no withdrawal function. Not the creator, not Surged, nobody can pull it.

Graduation usually happens in the same transaction as the last buy. When that buy runs out of gas for it, Surged completes it within seconds, and anyone else could too.

## After graduation

The token trades on its Uniswap pool. Until the swap widget for graduated tokens ships on surged.fun, use any Uniswap interface that supports Arc. The creator keeps earning from the pool's trading fee; see [Fees](/launchpad/fees.md).


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.surged.fun/launchpad/graduation.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.